ESSEX FOOTBALL: Cedar Grove once again brings D to the party

Cedar Grove did not get the shutout it has grown accustomed
to in the state final, but it did turn in yet another outstanding defensive
performance with the pressure turned on high Friday night against undefeated
Secaucus at Giants Stadium in the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 1
championship.

Cedar Grove won of course, 30-14, to claim its second title
in three years and fourth since 2000. Each of those other championships was won
by shutout.

The Panthers are routinely cited as one of the best
prepared, most tenacious defensive units in Essex County (and beyond), and they
again showed why they deserve the reputation. This physically imposing Secaucus
team had been manhandling opponents by am average score of 40-11 behind the
blocks of Rutgers-bound Betim Bujari (6-3, 275) and the Patriots’ other hulking
linemen.

To stop Secaucus’s outstanding running game, Cedar Grove
would have to find ways to negate its size disadvantage and disrupt the
Patriots’ running balance—Bujari, by the way, is no lumbering clod; he is an
exceptional athlete with quick feet and a high-octane motor.

Cedar Grove linemen like Joe Ligas, Joe Smigelsky, Fred Gold
and Russ Pagano knew they would have to fire off the ball every single snap to
avoid engagement and cause disruption in the backfield; linebackers Omer Ersen,
Mike Booth and Patsy Caggiano had to be accurate on their keys and quick to the
gaps to sidestep the pulling Bujari and get clean looks at the runners; DBs
Brian DelGuercio, Ken Miele and Pete Defrancisci could cheat a bit toward the
box with some sense of security knowing Secaucus is primarily a running team,
yet they also could not be cavalier about it.

Since Cedar Grove no longer plays on Thanksgiving, it had
two full weeks to prepare for Secaucus’s size, as well as the trickery that is
an important part of their offensive package. The players all knew that two
full weeks of preparation under defensive coach Al Calcagno was more than
sufficient.

``Coach Cal is the best defensive coach around. We’re lucky
to have a guy such as him,’’ Caggiano said. ``He knows everything that they’re
going to do and we just have to stop them.

``We’re smaller than them, but it’s always our offensive and
defensive line that’s going to win the game, and it was a good job by them,’’
he said. ``I thought they stepped up against such a very good line.’’

Caggiano clearly gave the Panthers a tremendous boost with
his offensive play—14 carries for 146 yards and two rushing TDs—but it was his
defense that gave Cedar Grove an important, double-digit lead in the second
quarter. He stepped in front of a receiver on a screen pass, snared the ball
like an agile shortstop and raced 30 yards for a score. Dan Gogerty’s PAT
opened a 22-8 lead with 5:55 to go.

``The two TD runs were great, but the interception was probably
the best play of the season for me,’’ Caggiano said.

Ersen, who came into the game tied with Booth for the team
lead with 76 tackles, was again a redoubtable presence at linebacker for the
Panthers. He was in on a team-high 14 tackles, followed by Booth and Ligas with
10 apiece, Caggiano with seven and Smigelsky and Gold with six each. Together,
they held Secaucus to 140 yards rushing, including just 28 in the second half.

ORANGE LOST TOUGH GAME, GAINED EXPERIENCE

Orange showed grit and opportunism when it scored after
Daquan Boyd’s fumble recovery on the first play of its North Jersey, Section 2,
Group 2 championship game against Summit. It rode that momentum by stopping
Summit at the Orange 29 on the ensuing series and then marching 71 yards to
open a surprising 13-0 lead against the undefeated and 13th-ranked
Hilltoppers Thursday night at Giants Stadium.

But Orange was unable to cash in on another Summit turnover
(Aaron Asokeji’s fumble recovery at the Summit 22) in the second quarter, and
that ended up being a telling shortcoming in the 28-19 loss.

``That was the difference I thought. I knew it when it
happened,’’ Orange coach RandyDaniel said. ``I thought that was the turning
point to be honest with you.’’

Orange’s drive stalled at the Summit 15 and the
senior-dominated Hilltoppers drove 85 yards in eight plays to grab a 14-13 lead
that it would carry into the second half. Orange missed a 35-yard field goal
attempt with 1:52 to go in the third quarter after marching 45 yards on 14
plays. Five plays later, Summit’s Matt Rea broke off a 45-yard TR run for a
21-13 Summit lead.

Orange was tough, hard-hitting and it was unfazed by
Summit’s undefeated record and the enormous numbers it had been putting up game
after game. But the Tornadoes simply did not have the overall experience to
match Summit’s veteran lineup. But perhaps the playoff run and the Giants
Stadium appearance will provide important lessons for juniors Contrez Hunter,
Malcolm Bagley, Anthony Lagrier, Marquise Monroe, Boyd and Orange’s other
non-seniors.

``Our kids played hard. That (Summit) was a helluva team,’’
Daniel said. ``But this was a beautiful experience for them.’’

LARODA LATE EFFORT APPLAUDED

My heart sank when Justin Laroda surged toward the end zone
after and was tackled at stripped at the Roxbury 2-yard line Saturday with 16
seconds left in East Orange’s North Jersey, Section 1, Group 4 championship
game at Giants Stadium. That preserved a 14-6 victory for Roxbury and had
Laroda feeling absolutely horrible afterward.

He shouldn’t. The sophomore quarterback displayed tremendous
will when he maintained his balance near the sideline, then pushed his way forward.
Perhaps a senior QB would have stepped out of bounds at that point to stop the
clock and allow his team to collect its composure for a follow-up play.
Instinct took over, and it was good to see that Laroda’s instinct was to make
something positive happen for his Jaguar team. He wasn’t afraid to take control
of the situation and put the result—good or bad—on himself.

Laroda, remember, inherited a difficult situation in August,
one a lot of sophomores would not have been able to handle. Star senior QB
Quadir Pendleton made a surprise transfer to Montclair, leaving East Orange’s
spread offense in Laroda’s hands.

East Orange finished 7-5, but lost those five games by a
total 24 points. He will return next season with a number of talented
teammates, including junior guard Ethan James,junior wideout Terry Barba,
junior running back Al-Malik Walker, sophomore defensive end Omane Stephen and
sophomore linebackers Najee Williams and Rammel Tisdale.